Child porn hits cellphone instead of ringtone

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EUGENE, Ore. -- University of Oregon grad student Valerie Egan thought she was adding a song by Modest Mouse to her cellphone Monday morning from T-Mobile, but what she says was sent to her phone was not a song, but a picture.

"My initial reaction was just shock and disgust," said Egan. "I mean, I used to be a teacher with kids that age, so for me it's just extremely upsetting."

Egan said a pornographic photo of a little girl appeared on the screen. She immediately deleted it from her phone and called T-Mobile.

Twice.

"And both times they put me on hold, and came back and said, 'Well we're sorry. We'll make sure you don't get charged," said Egan.

Frustrated, Egan posted her experience on the Web site's community forums page to warn others. She also called the Oregon Attorney General's Office and wrote in to KVAL News.

"Somebody needs to look into this," said Egan. "I would be horrified if I were a parent and my child had gotten this picture on their phone."

KVAL News called T-Mobile and spokesperson Krista Berlincourt said this was the first time she'd heard about the problem. T-Mobile later e-mailed this statement:

"T-Mobile is taking this very seriously and will fully investigate. We understand the importance of child safety and offer customers options including content blocking and parental controls. We will work directly with the customer and law enforcement to fully address this."

"It's too bad. It confirms my parents' fear of technology," said Egan. "Like, what are the creepy things you're buying on the Internet?"

Wednesday afternoon, a representative from the Oregon Attorney General's Office said they hadn't heard of any other complaints like Egan's but will investigate the case as soon as they receive her complaint paperwork.